New government-funded computer emergency response team recruits more staff in lead up to $3.4 million first year

THE new CERT Australia is beefing up its staff with new recruits, including some members of private counterpart, AusCERT.

Mike Rothery, the head of the national security resiliency division of the Attorney General's Department. Picture: David Crosling.

THE new government-funded computer emergency response team, CERT Australia, will cost $3.4 million to operate in its first year and is busy recruiting staff from its non-profit rival, AusCERT.

The new agency began advertising for cyber-security specialists in March, while negotiations were still under way with AusCERT over a contract to supply operational and advisory services to the private sector, reports The Australian.

CERT's advertisement revealed a new office would be opened in Brisbane, where AusCERT is based at the University of Queensland. The experienced team has since 1993 fulfilled a national response role, funded through user subscriptions.

Federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland last week dumped AusCERT, however, saying CERT would take over frontline protection against cyber-threats.

"The organisation will now be the sole supplier of national CERT services to the community, and the point of contact for international CERTs," he said. Mike Rothery, head of the Attorney-General's Department national security resiliency division, said eight job offers had been made in the recruitment round, with a number of acceptances.

"We have made some offers to current AusCERT staff, but these were people who applied and who came out highly at the end of the merit process," he said. "Not all of the positions have been offered to people presently at AusCERT."

CERT was expecting to take on eight more people boosting its staff to 26.

Read more at The Australian.